Unmade Beds

( 1 )

Overview

Writer-director Nicholas Barker opens the doors into the lonely, cruel world of single adults in New York City in this bleak comic quasi-documentary which uses real New York singles as actors. Barker selected his four stars from a series of telephone interviews. The two men and two women are unlucky in love and hungering for attention. Mikey Russo is a 54-year-old screenwriter who hasn't yet sold a major script. He is also an aspiring actor. Though his interest in film hasn't brought him riches, it has given him a way to meet women. Michael De Stefano is a 40-year-old transportation worker who has spent 15 years answering personal ads trying to find the perfect wife. He goes through many encounters patiently hoping.
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Overview

Writer-director Nicholas Barker opens the doors into the lonely, cruel world of single adults in New York City in this bleak comic quasi-documentary which uses real New York singles as actors. Barker selected his four stars from a series of telephone interviews. The two men and two women are unlucky in love and hungering for attention. Mikey Russo is a 54-year-old screenwriter who hasn't yet sold a major script. He is also an aspiring actor. Though his interest in film hasn't brought him riches, it has given him a way to meet women. Michael De Stefano is a 40-year-old transportation worker who has spent 15 years answering personal ads trying to find the perfect wife. He goes through many encounters patiently hoping. Middle-aged, divorced Brenda Monte is struggling with financial problems and the trials of raising a teenage daughter alone. She is sexually adventuresome. Amy Copp, 28, is a baseball fan who wants to find a husband before she hits 30, but her weight problem keeps preventing her from succeeding. Barker uses some scripted scenes to fill in gaps between his semi-documentary portrayals of the romantic misadventures of this motley group. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Special Features

Interview with the director; NYC windows photo album; Outtakes; Theatrical trailer; Director's profile; Original casting tapes

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble
A few painfully lonely hearts search for love in Unmade Beds, an unusual quasi-documentary from British filmmaker Nicholas Barker. Unmade Beds is a remarkably personal portrait of four frustrated New York City singles whose lives are revealed through a series of monologues, conversations with friends, and the occasional blind date. They're an unhappy, even desperate, quartet: Michael struggles angrily with his very short stature; Aimee is in despair about the fact she's overweight; Mikey is a longtime Lothario who's now just a bit too old; and Brenda is heavily in debt and in it only for the money. Nothing, though, is quite what it seems here, for while the characters in Unmade Beds are real people, not actors, director Barker had them rehearse and perform their lines in advance. The result is a series of surprisingly honest personal revelations and self-examinations that are often hilarious -- and painful -- to see and hear. While some viewers may object to Barker's detached, almost clinical perspective on his subjects, Unmade Beds is undeniably powerful and provocative. Ultimately, Barker challenges his viewers to empathize with his characters, and by not making it easy, he raises some profound questions about our own ability to face ourselves.

Product Details

  • Release Date: 2/6/2001
  • UPC: 717119724047
  • Original Release: 1997
  • Rating:
  • Source: NEW YORKER VIDEO
  • Time: 1:33:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Aimee Copp
Michael De Stefano
Brenda Monte
Mikey Russo
Technical Credits
Nicholas Barker Director, Screenwriter
Brad Bergbom Sound/Sound Designer
Sam Bickley Associate Producer
Paul Binns Editor
New State Entertainment Musical Direction/Supervision
Rupert Lord Musical Direction/Supervision
Tom Parkinson Musical Direction/Supervision
William Rexer II Cinematographer
Steve Wax Producer

Scene Index

Side #1 --
0. scene selections
0. Michael
1. "Nice Guys"
2. "That Queer Guy"
3. The Ad
4. The Dating Coach
5. "Still No Grandchildren"
0. Aimee
1. "Dumped By A Submissive"
2. "Techniques"
3. "A Night Of Terror"
4. "Humpty Dumpty"
5. The Dating Service
0. Mikey
1. "No Mutts"
2. "An Old Chicken"
3. New York Bar Scene
4. "A Real Mutt"
5. The Bachelor Days
0. Brenda
1. Brenda'S Problem
2. "Beat Me Up"
3. "Hook Or By Crook"
4. "Two Dicks A Day"
5. "Looking Healthy"
6. "Old, New, Borrowed, Blue"

Menu

Side #1 --
   play feature
   special features
      interview with the director
         About The Production
         Windows Of New York
      windows of nyc
      outtakes
         Michael
         Aimee
         Mikey
         Brenda
      theatrical trailer
      director's profile
      original casting tapes
         David
         Aimee
         Mikey
         Brenda
      New Yorker Films
         Fellini: City Of Women
            Play Trailer
         Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud
            Play Trailer
         > (About Us)

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
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Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    WOW!

    an excellent film, i reccomend everybody should by it. it totally blew me away!

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Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review